Ding, ding, ding…looks like we have a winner, folks. Hunger Games fans can take a cleansing breath and relax. The reviews are starting to trickle in on the big screen adaptation of Suzanne Collin’s best selling novel, The Hunger Games, and the critics are overwhelmingly giving a big thumbs up.

The Hunger Games (2012)

Plot: Every year in the ruins of what was once North America, the evil Capitol of the nation of Panem forces each of its twelve districts to send a teenage boy and girl to compete in the Hunger Games. A twisted punishment for a past uprising and an ongoing government intimidation tactic, The Hunger Games are a nationally televised event in which “Tributes” must fight with one another until one survivor remains. Pitted against highly-trained Tributes who have prepared for these Games their entire lives, Katniss is forced to rely upon her sharp instincts as well as the mentorship of drunken former victor Haymitch Abernathy. If she’s ever to return home to District 12, Katniss must make impossible choices in the arena that weigh survival against humanity and life against love. — (C) Lionsgate

James Rocchi (Box Office Magazine) says – 4 1/2 of 5 stars “As action, as allegory, as cinema, The Hunger Games is the best American science-fiction film since The Matrix, and if Ross and his crew stay with the series for the next two books, we may get that rarest of things: a blockbuster franchise that earns our money through craft, emotion and execution, not merely marketing and effects.” (read full review)

Christy Lemire (Associated Press) says – 3 stars “The Hunger Games” runs nearly two and a half hours in length but is the rare film that never drags and doesn’t overstay its welcome. It could keep running as long as Katniss does, and we’d want to be right there every heart-pounding step of the way.” (read full review)

Lisa Schwarzbaum (Entertainment Weekly) says – A- “This Hunger Games is a muscular, honorable, unflinching translation of Collins’ vision. It’s brutal where it needs to be, particularly when children fight and bleed. It conveys both the miseries of the oppressed, represented by the poorly fed and clothed citizens of Panem’s 12 suffering districts, and the rotted values of the oppressors, evident in the gaudy decadence of those who live in the Capitol. Best of all, the movie effectively showcases the allure of the story’s remarkable, kick-a** 16-year-old heroine, Katniss Everdeen.” (read full review)

If you haven’t pre-ordered tickets for opening weekend, you best be opening up a new tab right now to get those babies. Hop on over to Fandango. According to CBSNews, “The Hunger Games” is already breaking records, and it hasn’t even opened in theaters yet. Fandango announced Tuesday that the film, based on Suzanne Collins’ wildly popular novel, has sold more advance tickets than any other non-sequel ever.”